This Blog is designed to be a forum for discussion and commentary on all matters relating to environmental law drawing on the expertise of our practitioners and our Academic Panel members.
28 Oct 2011
The Court of Justice of the European Union hears Belgian references on scope of the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive
The Court of Justice of the European Union (Fourth Chamber) today held a hearing in Case C-567/10 Inter-Environnement Bruxelles ASBL & Others v Government of the Brussels-Capital Region.
The questions referred by the Cour constitutionnelle were:
“(1) Must the definition of 'plans and programmes' in Article 2(a) of Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment be interpreted as excluding from the scope of that directive a procedure for the total or partial repeal of a plan such as that applicable to a 'plan particulier d'affectation du sol' (specific land-use plan), provided for in Articles 58 to 63 of the Code bruxellois de l'Aménagement du Territoire (Brussels Town and Country Planning Code)?
(2) Must the word 'required' in Article 2(a) of that directive be understood as excluding from the definition of 'plans and programmes' plans which are provided for by legislative provisions but the adoption of which is not compulsory, such as the specific land-use plans referred to in Article 40 of the Brussels Town and Country Planning Code?”
Posted by
11:39am
19 Sep 2011
The promptness requirements in non-EC law case
On 8 September 2011 David Elvin Q.C. (sitting as a Deputy High Court judge) refused permission for judicial review in the case of R (Macrae) v. Herefordshire District Council (unreported).
09 Sep 2011
Civil Sanctions Regime Back On Track
In August DEFRA’s website made the following announcement about the introduction of civil sanctions into the environmental permitting regime:
“We updated you in February about a delay in progressing the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations, pending a cross Government position on civil sanctions for England more generally before measures in specific sets of regulations are taken forward. While this has been resolved, we are now having to satisfy additional scrutiny requirements and expect the regulations now to be laid in the Autumn in England and Wales, coming into force on 6 April 2012 ...”.
30 Aug 2011
Reference in Edwards on costs in environmental cases
On 30 July 2011 the terms of the reference of the Supreme Court in the case of R. (on the application of Edwards) v Environment Agency [2010] UKSC 57; [2011] 1 W.L.R. 79 were published in the Official Journal (OJ 2011 C 226/16 30 July 2011). This is registered as Case C-260/11.
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